Magnificent, breath-taking spectacle. A glorious, gorgeous testament to mankind’s creativity. Looks really good in 3D. All of this and more can be used to describe The Great Wall of China. The Great Wall of filmmaker Zhang Yimou, however, is another thing entirely.

Following the intense furore surrounding the creation and marketing of The Great Wall, the film itself is here for all to see and judge. Erasure? White saviour trope: the movie? The Great Wall of China with a coat of whitewashing? As it turns out, not quite, but that’s not to say the movie is without its problems.

Welcome to another installment of Movies to Show My Son. This is the blog series were I discuss movies I can’t wait to show my son in the future. I’ll be covering my own personal experience with the movie, movie lessons and life lessons I hope he will learn, and lastly my concerns about showing said film. This week’s film is The Bicycle Thief.

Personal Memories:

When I was growing up I never watched foreign films. It is not that I avoided them it is more so that I did not realize they existed. At that time I assumed everything was made at Hollywood and by Disney. As I grew older and wiser I realized that was not the case but still tended to stay away. The first time I ended up seeing a foreign film was around 2002 when I saw Yimou Zhang’s Hero in theaters.

Zhang is one of China’s foremost directors of drama, pithy comedy and large-scale historical action. Many of his films have played at major festivals and been China’s foreign-language Oscar contender. His venture into the mainstream with “The Great Wall,” a VFX-heavy historical fantasy actioner shot largely in English and starring Matt Damon,

Chicago – Taking a concept higher than the Wall that inspired it, and mostly succeeding, “The Great Wall” gets a nod as one of the oddest stories in a long time. Pre-supposedly based on a “legend,” it brings Matt Damon into ancient China to help battle lizard monsters at the Great Wall. Book it.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

What makes it work is that it has a “Treasure of Sierra Madre” element to it, that the white European mercenaries are there to get the “black powder,’ the just invented and explosive gunpowder. The raid by the lizard monsters is something out of 1950s sci-fi – they are Creature-from-the-Black-Lagoon like – and would have been better if they didn’t look so cartoony. When I see 10,000 of those beasties coming at me down the valley I don’t care what Great Wall is protecting me, I’m outta there. Matt Damon, however, stays, and despite his character

I had high hopes for Matt Damon’s fantasy adventure film The Great Wall because I enjoy this particular genre of films. I enjoy watching these films, and the Chinese have made some beautifully epic martial arts fantasy films in the past. Unfortunately, The Great Wall was a big disappointment.

The movie was visually stunning, and I loved the epic scope of it and all of the costume, setting, and creature designs. All of that stuff complimented many of the film’s awesome action sequences. So yes, the movie was incredibly fun to look at, but unfortunately, it was just a hollow story with an amusingly bad script.

This film was jumping all over the place, there was no flow, and the story was just littered with holes. It was a big mess! I’m sure there was a good story in there somewhere, but it seemed like there were

Visionary Chinese director Yimou Zhang has delivered a rousing take on the venerable traditions of the monster movie. Though promoted as a historical epic, The Great Wall is a B-movie at heart, and it’s a lot of fun. The story opens in the Gobi Desert in Northern China in the 17th century as soldiers-for-hire William Garin (Matt Damon) and Pero Tovar (Pedro Pascal) are searching for gunpowder when they are attacked by an unseen creature whose paw they manage to lop off. The pair then arrive at a military post on the Great Wall and are captured by the Nameless Order, an army led by General Shao (Zhang Hanyu) and his right-hand gal Lin Mae (Jing Tian). Impressed by Will’s archery skills, the Generals recruit him to help battle the Tao Tei, thousands of ferocious beasties that rise from the nearby Jade Mountain every 60 years to wipe out

When I think about China’s Song dynasty, the first thing that comes to mind is Matt Damon. You too, right? A movie like The Great Wall is just screaming for a “William” to save the day, because native warriors surely can’t fend for themselves (duh). A little whitewashing, a dash of CGI monsters and voilà! You’ve got yourself a generic slash-em-up atop, in front of and behind China’s most wondrous landmark. Director Yimou Zhang splatters rocky landscapes with colorful costumes and fiery explosions, but it’s not enough to salvage snooze-worthy drama whenever characters start to jabber. Did you expect something more than swift monster mutilation? I seriously hope not, you crazy loon.

Damon’s William is but a weary mercenary looking for some magical weapon known as “black powder.” The Chinese possess it, so he sets out with a party to “barter.” After a harsh spell of travel,

This will be the first major Hollywood movie directed by China’s top director, Zhang Yimou, whose Opening Ceremonies for the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008 helped make him a lot more known to Western audiences. Of course, fans of world cinema have probably already seen Jet Li’s Hero and some of director Zhang’s previous films, many of which China had put up as their Oscar selections.

The collaboration between China and Hollywood allowed Zhang to cast a lot of Chinese actors including the up and coming Chinese star Jing Tian, who plays Commander Lin Mae, the leader of the Chinese Army’s “Crane Corps,” who are stationed at the Great Wall of China to fight off demons, known as Tao Tei. (The Crane Corps use long cables

European mercenaries searching for black powder become embroiled in the defense of the Great Wall of China against a horde of monstrous creatures.

Don’t buy a ticket with great expectations coming into The Great Wall. Yimou Zhang is certainly a gifted director (most known for Hero and House of Flying Daggers) now making his English-speaking film debut, but he’s unfortunately working with a highly generic and cliché story. Will dishonorable mercenary William (Matt Damon in one of his weakest and little defined roles ever) change his selfish ways and begin fighting for honor over greed? Will Willem Dafoe’s completely superfluous and useless character betray everyone at some point? Will the beastly

To win your free passes to “The Great Wall” courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just get interactive with our social media widget below. That’s it! This screening is on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017 at 7 p.m. in downtown Chicago. The more social actions you complete, the more points you score and the higher yours odds of winning! Completing these social actions only increases your odds of winning; this doesn’t intensify your competition!

Born in 1969, Liu Jian was trained as a painter at Nanjing University of the Arts, but he embarked on a career in animation in 2001 with a three-minute short featured in Feng Xiaogang’s comedy “Big Shot’s Funeral.” He made his debut with animated feature with “Piercing I.” The film was dubbed China’s first independent animated feature and won critical acclaim. His second animated feature, “Have

Empire creator Lee Daniels, actress Jessica Chastain and director Zhang Yimou are set to take part in the seventh installment of the Loyola Marymount University School of Film and Television's interview series The Hollywood Masters, which again will be moderated by The Hollywood Reporter's Stephen Galloway.

Empire creator Lee Daniels, actress Jessica Chastain and director Zhang Yimou are set to take part in the seventh installment of the Loyola Marymount University School of Film and Television's interview series The Hollywood Masters, which again will be moderated by The Hollywood Reporter's Stephen Galloway.

Legendary Entertainment’s “Kong: Skull Island” has secured a theatrical release slot in mainland China, the world’s second largest entertainment market. Also newly confirmed is James Mangold’s “Logan.”

“Skull Island” is set for release in China on Friday March 24. That puts the outing only two weeks after its March 10 debut in North America and other major territories including the U.K. “Logan,” will hit Chinese screens one week earlier on Friday March 17. Its China opening is also some two weeks after its release in international territories on March 2 and 3.

They join other prominent Hollywood titles including “A Dog’s Purpose” and “Beauty and the Beast” now with forward dates.

Release dates for foreign movies are decided by government regulators in negotiation with the studios, but often dates are not locked in until six weeks before the film’s outing. The Hollywood studios are not permitted to set up

As wave after wave of marauding beasts, intent on devouring the world, besiege the massive structure, his quest for fortune turns into a journey toward heroism as he joins a huge army of elite warriors to confront this unimaginable and seemingly unstoppable force.

Keep up with the glitzy awards world with our weekly Awards Roundup column.

Awards

– The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television has announced that director Johnny Ma has won the Academy’s Best First Feature award, sponsored by Telefilm Canada, for his feature film, “Old Stone.” This award celebrates the outstanding debut of a first-time filmmaker. The film had its North American premiere at Tiff in the Discovery Programme and was awarded the City of Toronto Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film. The film can be pre-ordered on iTunes for viewing after April 7, 2017.

The Canadian Screen Awards will be broadcast live on CBC from Toronto’s Sony Centre for the Performing Arts on Sunday, March 12.

– Acclaimed screenwriter-director Richard Curtis has been named the recipient of the Writers Guild of America, West’s 2017 Valentine Davies Award in recognition of his humanitarian efforts, charitable initiatives and world service, which have achieved a

Legendary Chinese filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai is renowned for his vivid use of color, which the kind folks over at Glass Distortion have made abundantly clear in a sweeping new compilation titled simply, “Wong Kar Wai: Color Obsession.” As the filmmaker’s varied spectrum of bright hues and darker tones splash across the screen, one can see how crucial this colorful aesthetic is to creating the distinct mood and atmosphere for which his films are known.

The Chinese auteur’s obsession with color is well documented, as in this 1998 interview with Bomb Magazine, when he compared “Chungking Express” (1994) to “Fallen Angels” (1995) by discussing both films’ palettes: “Whereas ‘Chungking’ was sunshiny and suffused with bright, lovely daytime colors, ‘Fallen Angels’ is more about neon, and night time, and grunge.”

Read More: Supercut GuruKogonada: How He Leapt from Small Screens to Sundance Next with the Mysterious ‘Columbus’

The extraordinary growth of the Chinese film industry has seen it emerge as a global player. The Chinese industry is looking abroad to futher its filmmaking expertise and help bring its films to an international audience. In If's first China Report, Jackie Keast examines what this means for Australia. As Hollywood and film industries across the world enthusiastically court the Chinese market, can we compete?

The film industry in China is booming. Within just a few years, China has become the world.s second largest market, predicted to eclipse the Us in less than five years..

By 2015, annual ticket sales had reached 44 billion yuan, or $USD6.78 billion — a growth of 48.7 per cent from 2014..

The Great Wall movie with Matt Damon: awkward-accented British mercenary fights the Taotie in costly Chinese-American collaboration. 'The Great Wall' movie: Zhang Yimou-Matt Damon collaboration evidence that – for better or for worse – countries can work together In this divisive age, when countries are turning inward with a nationalist, xenophobic fervor, it's comforting to know that the United States and China, their relationship mercurial and wary, can work together and, in the spirit of cooperation and unity, make a terrible movie. A co-production between Legendary East (the Chinese arm of Burbank, California-based, Legendary Entertainment) and China Film Group, The Great Wall is reportedly the most expensive film ever shot in China, a nation with aspirations to make films that rival Hollywood in their scope and success. Hollywood is willing to help if it ultimately leads to the release of more of its films in the tightly controlled Chinese market,

Throughout his decorated cinematic career, Matt Damon has uncovered global conspiracies, sabotaged interstellar pursuits, and grown potatoes on Mars – and that’s just scratching the surface. But for his latest gig, it’s fair to say Damon is venturing into uncharted territory with The Great Wall, Zhang Yimou’s wildly ambitious monster movie that’s set to become the most expensive film production in Chinese history. No pressure, then.

With little over three weeks to go until its western release, Empire has unearthed a new, vertigo-inducing image for The Great Wall that sees Matt Damon’s adventurer approach the edge of China’s famous fortification very, very gingerly. Flanked by Willem Dafoe and Game of Thrones star Pedro Pascal, Damon’s William Garin and his men are drafted in by Commander Lin Mae (Jing Tian) to help safeguard China and its people from mythical beasts known as the Taotie.

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